Part of the reason ocean water moves around the ocean basins in this pattern is because the water is salty. Melting ice adds fresh water to the ocean, which could make the currents weaker.

Weaker currents could cause the dense layer of cold water that sits in the deep Atlantic to warm. Since warm water takes up more space than cold water, sea level would rise more than in other places if this water warmed.

First, they used to the model to test what would happen if the amount of ice that melts increases each year just as it has over the past few years. They found that this would cause sea level to rise up to 51 centimeters (20 inches) more than in other places.

Second, they tested what would happen if the amount of ice melt continued to increase, but not quite as fast. They found that this would cause sea level to rise about a foot

Third, the team tested what would happen with only a very small increase in the amount of melt each year. They found that, in that case, sea level wouldn’t rise more than 20 centimeters (8 inches) more than in other places.

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